The present invention relates in genral to fishing floats or bobbers, and more particularly, to a bobber which may be illuminated for providing a greater visibility as well as attracting fish towards it.
While fishing, it is important that a fisherman be able to spot when the fish first takes the bait so that the hook may be properly set before the bait is released by the fish. Conventional fishing bobbers provide visual indication of when the fish grabs the bait so that the fisherman may react to set the hook. While these bobbers may prove adequate for this purpose during the portions of the day when lighting conditions allow the fisherman to easily view the bobber, they are less than desirable under poor lighting conditions, such as at night and early in the morning when the bobber is less visible. Under these conditions, a fisherman may be unable to properly set the hook and may subsequently lose the fish that he might otherwise have been able to catch if he were able to visually see the bobber bobbing in the water. Therefore, a need exists for a bobber that can be seen during low light environments. Since it is no secret that fish are attracted to lights, then a light-emitting float would satisfy the need to see the float as well as attract fish. Unfortunately do to the reflective nature of the surface of water, a significant proportion of light directed towards the water surface will be reflected away from the water. Therefore a need exist for a bobber which is able to be seen during low light environments by the fisherman, as well as, being able to be seen by the fish themselves so as to attract the fish towards the bobber.
A wide variety of fishing bobbers and floaters is currently available on the commercial market and an even larger number of these types of devices are known in the art of fishing bobbers and floaters as exemplified, for example, the fishing float assembly disclosed by Kurka and Brandesjs in U.S. Pat. No. 4,649,660; the illuminable fishing float disclosed by Reed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,827,655; the fishing float disclosed yb Severance and Kirby in U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,219; the fishing bobber disclosed by Burns in U.S. Pat. No. 5,235,777; the illuminated line fishing apparatus disclosed by Ross in U.S. Pat. No. 5,274,945; and the fishing bobber disclosed by Reed in U.S. Pat. No. D307,932.
Outside of the art of fish bobbers and floaters, the luminescent floating sinker described by Wohead in U.S. Pat. No. 4,693,030 discloses a phosphorescent light source contained entirely within the sinker. Since a sinker by definition sinks, then the Wohead device should be considered outside the art of bobbers and floaters. Furthermore, the Wohead device is wholly silent with regards to above water light sources and is explicitly provides an underwater light source. Furthermore, the Wohead device is silent with regards to chemiluminescent light source because Wohead explicitly describes a luminescent material that can be xe2x80x98activated by a flashlight or the like.xe2x80x99 Therefore, not only is the Wohead device outside of the art of bobbers and floaters, it is also silent with regards to chemiluminescence as well as above water light sources.
While all of the above-described devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a chemiluminescent fishing float having both ends of the locked in place chemiluminescent stick protruding from the central passageway of the bobber. This would specifically match the user""s particular individual needs of a floater that makes it possible to simultaneously provide an above water chemiluminescent light source as well as an underwater chemiluminescent light source.
Therefore, a need exists for a new and improved chemiluminescent fishing float that can be used for simultaneously providing an above water chemiluminescent light source as well as an underwater chemiluminescent light source. In this respect, the chemiluminescent fishing float according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for providing a chemiluminescent fishing float having both ends of the locked in place chemiluminescent stick protruding from the central passageway of the bobber providing an above water chemiluminescent light source as well as an underwater chemiluminescent light source.
The present device, according to the principles of the present invention, overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art by providing a new and improved chemiluminescent fishing float device is described. The chemiluminescent fishing float is able to provide an above water chemiluminescent light source for use in visually locating where the float is floating as well as providing an underwater chemiluminescent light source for use in attracting fish towards the underwater vicinity where the float is floating. The chemiluminescent fishing float device comprises a chemiluminescent light stick that is slidably lockable into a central passageway of a bobber. The bobber also has a means for attaching onto a fishing line. Both ends of the locked in place chemiluminescent light stick protrude from the central cavity of the bobber, whereby providing the above water and the below water light source.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known type fishing floats now present in the prior art, the present invention provides an improved chemiluminescent fishing float, which will be described subsequently in great detail, is to provide a new and improved chemiluminescent fishing float which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by the prior art, either alone or in any combination thereof.
To attain this, the present invention essentially comprises a chemiluminescent light stick that is slidably lockable into a central passageway of a bobber. The bobber also has a means for attaching onto a fishing line. Both ends of the locked in place chemiluminescent light stick protrude from the central cavity of the bobber, whereby providing the above water and the below water light source.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution of the art may be better appreciated.
The invention may also include a polymeric collar attached around the central passageway so as to allow the chemiluminescent light stick to be slidably forced through the passageway and subsequently locked in place by frictionally adhering to the outer surface of the chemiluminescent light stick. There are of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims attached.
Numerous objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading of the following detailed description of presently preferred, but nonetheless illustrative, embodiments of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompany drawings. In this respect, before explaining the current embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved chemiluminescent fishing float that has all the advantages of the prior art chemiluminescent fishing float and none of the disadvantages.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved chemiluminescent fishing float that may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved chemiluminescent fishing float that has a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such multipurpose storage unit and system economically available to the buying public.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved luminescent fishing float that is chemiluminescent. This makes it possible to provide a light source which is free of electronic control devices as well as simple to use.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new chemiluminescent fishing float that provides in the apparatuses and methods of the prior art some of the advantages thererof, while simultaneously overcoming some of the disadvantages normally associated therewith.
Even still another object of the present invention is to provide a chemiluminescent fishing float having both ends of the locked in place chemiluminescent stick protruding from the central passageway of the bobber. This makes it possible to simultaneously provide an above water light source as well as an underwater light source. The above water light source is for allowing a fisherman to see where the chemiluminescent fishing float is floating. The under water light source is for attracting fish to the underwater vicinity where the chemiluminescent fishing float is floating.
Lastly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved method of using the chemiluminescent fishing float device is described. The method comprises obtaining the new and improved chemiluminescent fishing float, activating the chemiluminescent light stick, wrapping a fishing line around the chemiluminescent light stick, forcing the chemiluminescent light stick wrapped with fishing line into the central passageway of the bobber, putting a hook on the end of the fish line, baiting the hook, casting the combined bobber/chemiluminescent light stick/hook conglomerate into water and attracting fish with the light.
Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientist, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.